A Killer's Path
by Lord Stanley
Summary: AU! Nikolai is a coldblooded killer. Problem is he's the BoyWhoLived as well. It's not going to be pretty when he is arrested and sent to Hogwarts for reform. Dark, Independent Harry. Abandoned
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is familiar to you. It all belongs to Rowling, Warner Bros, and many other industries.**

**Summary**- AU! Nikolai is a cold-blooded killer. Problem is he's the boy-who-lived as well. It's not going to be pretty when he is arrested and sent to Hogwarts by Dumbledore. Dark! Independent! Manipulatemeanddie! Harry.

**A/N–** Hey all. I had this idea a couple of days ago. Before you start reading let me tell you THIS WILL NOT BE SLASH. Harry and Draco became friends growing up but they do not like each other in that way. I will be updating Glory and Death either later today, or sometime tomorrow. Sorry its taking this long, but I haven't had any power for the past 3 days and I really wanted to get this done first. Thank you R&R. Oh and this will not be a fic where Draco and Harry are friends.

A special thanks goes to my beta Lyric Z D from Perfect Imagination. (A link to this site can be found in my profile.)

**Chapter One:**

**-------X-------**

_"Avada Kedavra." _

Nikolai watched as the sobbing man fell to the ground, lifeless, the thud of his corpse echoing around the small bedroom that they were in. The man had done nothing to him, so why did he kill him?

Easy... It was his job.

Ludo Bagman had made his contractor livid when he had refused to pay up the 40,000 Galleon winnings he owed to the man. Nikolai's contractor had been searching for Bagman for almost two years when he finally tracked him down.

Nikolai had been given the job for exactly one reason, the reason being that he was the best there was. From the two hundred-plus jobs he had been given, not one had gone uncompleted.

Turning for the door, Nikolai exited the small cottage in which Bagman had been hiding. He walked for about a hundred yards before he felt the Anti-apparition wards vanish. He was able to Apparate around low-powered wards like this one, but it took a lot out of him so he didn't bother unless it was an emergency.

Looking around, he saw no one in the area. Nikolai cast a few anti-tracking charms and a variation of the Confundus around himself before silently Apparating back to his flat in Muggle London.

He arrived just inside the door of his small living area.

Sensing another magical signature in the area, he dove behind a small sofa.

Nikolai cast a quick charm on his eyes allowing himself to see through solid objects, much like the magical eye Moody had received because of an 'accident' caused by one of Lucius's friends.

He looked around for a minute before relaxing and removing the charm. Getting up, he headed for the tiny kitchen area.

Draco Malfoy stood in front of the refrigerator, pouring himself a shot of Ogden's Finest.

"Help yourself," Nikolai called from the doorway.

Draco jumped, causing him to drop both the firewhiskey bottle and his shot glass. They fell to ground and shattered.

Nikolai rolled his eyes. Draco was an excellent ally, great for information that his father wouldn't share with Nikolai, but he was about as tough as a pillow (not to mention annoying as hell).

Draco spun around to see Nikolai leaning against the doorframe with an amused look on his face. "Merlin, Nik! You could just walk up and say 'hi' next time."

Nikolai snorted. With a flick of his wand the bottle and glass were repaired. Another flick caused the firewhiskey to vanish.

"What is that? The fourth or fifth bottle you owe me?" Nikolai asked sarcastically.

Draco plastered a frown on his face. "Actually, I think it's the sixth..."

Nikolai shook his head. Draco was unbelievable.

"I thought you had a date with Parkinson tonight," Nikolai said.

"I did, but father made me cancel it so that I could come get you. He's hosting a small dinner, and you're _invited_ to come."

Nikolai didn't respond to the question instantly (besides, they both knew that Nikolai would have to come regardless). Instead, he walked past Draco and pulled a Coke out of the fridge.

After snapping it open and taking a long swig, he answered. "I'll be there. What time is it?"

" Eight o'clock," Draco answered, also grabbing a Coke out of the fridge.

"Okay. I need to grab some sleep for a few hours then I'll meet you there."

"Perfect. I will be waiting for you there."

**-------X-------**

_When he had been only five years old, he had gotten lost on the streets of London. He was going to have to find his own way home now, of course. Petunia Dursley would never waste a second of her time looking for the freak who had caused her so much misfortune._

_Misfortune. What a load of shit._

_Five-year-old Nikolai (then named Harry) had started to head for the car park where Petunia had parked their car, but something else had caught his eye._

_A black, dingy old pub was set in between two bustling shops with people spilling in and out of them. It seemed so out of place next to the other brightly colored shops. The other odd thing about it was the fact that not one person seemed to be able to see the pub._

_Curiosity getting the better of him, young Harry headed for the pub. Looking up at the sign hanging above the door he saw that it was named The Leaky Cauldron._

_What a funny name, he remembered thinking. _

_Entering the shop, he was surprised by the sheer number of people in it. He had half-expected that it would be empty._

_A middle-aged man called out to him from behind the bar. Turning to look at the manHarry saw that he was wearing some strange clothes._

_In fact, everyone in the room seemed to be wearing the same type of clothing as the man was. Instead of the normal business suits you would normally see on the streets of London, these people were wearing a variety of different colored robes._

_Nervously, Harry walked up to the bar counter and climbed onto a stool._

_"Sir," he started timidly, "could you please tell me where I am?"_

_The man gave him a funny look. "Why, you're in The Leaky Cauldron, lad," he answered._

_The way the bartender looked at him made Harry think that he was supposed to know exactly where he was._

_"Where is your mother, son?" the man asked him._

_Harry decided to play dumb and see where it got him. He was, after all, five years old. It was in his nature to be curious about such things._

_"I don't know, sir. We were just shopping, and then all of a sudden I couldn't see her anymore," Harry said frantically._

_"Ah...I see. Follow me lad. We'll get you back to her, don't you worry," the bartender told him soothingly._

_Harry smiled gratefully, but on the inside he was smirking. Adults were so easy to trick._

_Harry followed the man to a back door. The man opened the door and led little Harry into a small area surrounded by a brick wall._

_Harry watched as the man pulled out an odd-looking stick and tapped several different bricks that Harry committed to his memory. It never hurt to remember small things like this._

_His eyes widened as the bricks made a grating noise and started to separate and form an archway._

_"There you go, lad. Do you need help finding your mother?" the man asked. Fortunately, he had missed Harry's surprise._

_Harry blinked a few times to get the excitement off of his face. "No. I know what shop she's in," he said as happily as he could. "Thanks for your help, Mr.-" _

_"Call me Tom, lad," the man answered, holding out his hand._

_Harry shook his hand and thanked him again before running through the arch and into the heavily crowded street._

_His head swiveled back and forth at the odd shops. Quality Quidditch Supplies, Magical Menagerie, Apothecary, Cauldron shops. What was this place?_

_Continuing down the street, Harry saw another street branching off from the one he was on._

_Knockturn Alley, the sign read. This street had few to no people on it, so he headed down it without question._

_Harry had always hated places with a lot of people. It was just another one of the side effects of living in a cupboard._

_This street was nothing like the one he had been on a few minutes ago. Whereas that one had been bright and loud, this one was dark and eerily quiet.The store windows he passed were filled with gross and frightening things such as skulls, bloody daggers, and vials of different colored liquids. _

_While Harry was exploring this dreary place, Lucius Malfoy was haggling with a Mr. Borgin inside the shop named Borgin & Burkes._

_Ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, Lucius had been having a rough time.He had been taken in front of the Wizengamot three times, whether it was for carrying the Dark Mark or for being in possession of illegal items. All three times he had been able to bribe his way out of Azkaban, but he was running low on assets._

_Lucius was selling Borgin almost all of the Dark items he held at Malfoy Manor. Not only would this prevent arrest, but get his liquid assets back into fairly nice shape._

_Lucius was a slightly above-average wizard, and an excellent duelist. But he had a special ability called magical empathy._

_Magical empathy allowed the user to sense another wizard's magical power._

_While he trying to get a good price on the items he was going to sell, Harry walked past the store and Lucius's empathy went mad._

_Commanding Borgin to wait for him, Lucius rushed out of the shop and looked up and down the Knockturn Alley._

_Lucius was shocked beyond belief when he found the source of the power. This was a child! The boy was nowhere near adulthood, yet he had twice as much raw power than he himself did. _

_Then a thought struck him. He could use this boy!_

_Lucius ran down the street and grasped the boy's shoulder when he reached him._

_The child turned to look at Lucius. "May I help you?" the boy asked kindly._

_Lucius took a moment to compose himself."I would like to propose a job to you," Lucius started._

_"What kind of job?" Harry asked quizzically._

_"Nothing for a few years at least. I would have to train your magic as high as possible before you could start. I will provide you with shelter, food, clothing, and any other necessities. I also have a son that is about your age that you could acquaint yourself with."_

_Harry studied the man in front of him intensely. His piercing green eyes searched for a sign of deceit or mistruth in the man's face._

_"Okay, I'll do it, sir. But you have to tell me all about this magic stuff."_

_Lucius's eyebrows rose up in surprise. He was amazed; this kid was actually a Mudblood! That wasn't possible. No Muggle-born could ever be that powerful._

_"Very well," Lucius drawled. "You may call me Lucius."_

_Harry nodded. "You can call me...," _

_Harry stopped himself before he could finish his name. For some reason, he wanted to have a new name. Maybe it was because he wanted to start a new life, or just because he didn't like Harry, he didn't know._

_"We will call you Nikolai," Lucius finished for him._

_Harry nodded._

Nikolai eyes shot open as he was ripped from his sleep. Sitting up he looked at the small clock that was set above his door.

_7: 38_

Sitting up, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and slid off. Walking over to his dresser, Nikolai started to get dressed.

**-------X-------**

Twenty minutes later, Nikolai appeared outside the gates of an enormous mansion. The mansion was four stories tall and spanned across three acres of land. In front of the building, the yard was littered with hundreds of different trees and flowers. Fountains were scattered around the yard with benches circling each and every one of them.

The gates opened when he placed his hand on the Malfoy family crest, and he started up the stone pathway to the main doors.

Walking up the marble front steps, he took the snake knocker in his hand, banging it on the wood door three times.

An instant later, the double doors were yanked opened by a heavily-breathing house elf.

"Mister go this way, sir," the house elf wheezed, bowing and gesturing with his hand toward what Nikolai knew was the dining area.

Thanking the elf, he walked briskly into the room.

Sitting at the head of the table was Lucius. Draco was sitting on his right and Narcissa was sitting on his left. Three other men were scattered around the table. He knew Severus Snape and Vincent Crabbe Sr. by face, but he had no idea who the other one was.

Lucius looked up from his plate when Nikolai walked in. Getting up, he walked over to where the assassin was standing.

"Ah, my friend. It is good to see you again. I am grateful you came," Lucius said in a formal tone.

Gesturing toward the table, the host continued. "You remember Narcissa and Draco, of course. That man at the end of the table is Vincent Crabbe, and a few seats to his left is Walden Macnair. Severus is the man at the middle of the table."

Harry nodded to each one in turn, bowing to Narcissa.

"Please, do have a seat."

With a small thank you, Nikolai took his place next to Draco.

The first twenty minutes of dinner was uneventful. They exchanged small talk before the main course was served.

Throughout the dinner, Nikolai noticed Snape throwing glances at him every once in a while, but he thought nothing of it. He decided that it was because Snape had never seen him before.

After everyone was finished with their desserts, Lucius turned to Nikolai. He knew this had been coming. Lucius hardly ever invited him to dinner if there wasn't something important that needed to be done.

"My friend, I have a proposition for you," Lucius stated.

Nikolai nodded to show he was interested.

"There is this Mudblood witch who has been a nuisance to my Master. My Lord asked that I have someone kill the bitch's parents."

Nikolai spoke up at this. "You know I don't work for Voldemort," he said ignoring the scowls from almost everyone at the table. "And why does he want you to kill the parents instead of the Mudblood?"

"I told my Lord that you would not work for free. He is offering you 5,000 Galleons up front and 5,000 when the mission is completed," the lord of the Malfoy house stated. "The Dark Lord wishes for you to kill the parents only because the Mudblood is in a building with near-unbreakable wards."

Nikolai nodded. "I'll do it. Does he want me to make it look magical or Muggle?"

"You may make it look Muggle, but make sure that magical sensors will be able to pick up traces of spell use around their bodies. You may take their location from my mind."

Nikolai nodded and siphoned Lucius's memory into his own mind using Legilimency.

When he finished, he walked briskly from the room.

Nobody noticed the worried look that flashed across Snape's face.

**-------X-------**

Albus Dumbledore surveyed the gathering of people in front of him as Kingsley Shacklebolt finished up his speech about Death Eater locations.

Standing up, he started to say, "Good, everyone. This concludes tonight's-"

Severus Snape burst into the room, striding quickly up to the chair in which Dumbledore was sitting.

The group, known as the Order of the Phoenix, watched as Snape whispered something in their leader's ear. They saw Dumbledore's eyes go wide moments before he started shouting orders.

"Kingsley, Tonks, Alastor, Sirius…Get to the Ministry and gather as many Aurors as you can before heading to the Granger residence. There is going to be an assassination attempt tonight!" Dumbledore shouted out.

As the four Aurors raced to the Floo, Dumbledore continued giving his orders.

"Emmeline, Bill, Hestia, Sturgis… Get to the Granger house NOW! Prepare for a fight."

When everyone had done what they were supposed to, Dumbledore sank into his chair.

"What is happening, Albus?" Hogwarts Professor Minerva McGonagall asked her superior.

"We have found Harry Potter," Albus answered wearily.

There was a collective intake of breath from everyone in the room.

"Well... That is... wonderful, but what does it have to do with the Grangers?" Minerva asked.

"Harry has been given the job to assassinate Ms. Granger's parents," Albus answered, lowering his head.

Shouts of disbelief and anger shot up from around the room.

"QUIET!" Albus shouted. Quiet ensued almost instantly. "I know this is hard to believe, and comes as quite of a shock, but it seems he has been an assassin working for Lucius Malfoy for a decade."

He turned to Minerva. "Please go inform Ms. Granger of the situation."

**-------X-------**

Nikolai stalked up the lawn of the Granger residence. Usually he would have broken through the low-level Anti-apparition fields that he had encountered. All of his missions concerning Muggles so far had been extremely easy. Sometimes he wondered why the people who hired him paid so much for such easy jobs.

Tonight was different, though. Tonight his gut told him he would need absolutely all the magic he could draw up.

He slashed his wand down at the door causing it to disintegrate quietly, smoke rising from the remains of the wood. Walking through the smoke into the house, Nikolai found himself at gunpoint.

A tall, wiry man was holding some variation of a Barrett rifle, if his knowledge was correct.

"G-get out of h-here if you value your life!" the man, who was obviously the Granger family head, shouted.

Nikolai smirked. "You must be Mr. Granger," he sneered, "So nice to meet you." With that he kneed the man in his groin, causing him to drop the rifle and hiss in pain.

When Granger fell, Nikolai saw that his wife was staring at them, paralyzed in horror.

"Say good-bye to your wife, Granger," he snarled.

Nikolai jabbed his wand at the man's head. A curse shot out of his raised wand and shattered Mr. Granger's skull. The man dropped lifeless to the ground, his wife shrieking behind him.

_One down, one to go. _

He looked up at the Granger housewife. Deciding not to taunt the woman, he settled for a quick painless death.

"_Avada Kedavra_."

The green light struck Mrs. Granger just as the four Order members rushed through the door.

Sensing them, Nikolai spun around, creating a shield as four different Stunners flew toward him.

He smirked at them. "Stunners? Really. Do you really think you can win using third year spells? Here, let me show you some big boy curses."

_Lanius Tergum! Flatus! Os Fragmen_! he thought as he slashed and waved his wand furiously, shooting the three spells at his attackers.

Not being able to throw up shields in time, the middle man's skin was ripped off of his body by the skin shredding curse, and one of the women was blasted back through the door by the high level blasting curse.

Another man, Nikolai recognized him as a Weasley by the red hair, screamed in pain as his collarbone shattered as the bone-breaking spell hit him.

Launching a counter attack, the two remaining Order members sent another volley of Stunners.

Nikolai dodged them easily and sent off another blasting curse, sending the remaining woman ricocheting off the wall.

"So Weasley... Just you and me, huh," Nikolai quickly disarmed the man, snapping his wand when he caught it.

Nikolai slid his wand back into its holster and Summoned Granger's rifle. "I think I'll just use this baby here to kill you. The Aurors will think it was you who killed the Grangers," he laughed mercilessly.

Before pulling the trigger, he studied the man. He was leaning against the doorframe for support due to the fact he was about to pass out from the pain of his shattered collarbone.

While Nikolai looked the Weasley over, he thought about the bonus Lucius would give him for framing a Weasley of murder.

His ponderings were cut short when he heard people running around behind him. Quickly stunning the Weasley, Nikolai ducked into the shadows just as fifteen aurors walked in.

_Oh shit! _

Hurriedly, Nikolai tried to apparate past the wards only to find they had been strengthened to the point that he couldn't break them.

"We know you're in here!" the auror in front yelled, "Come out calmly and we will not hurt you."

Slowly Nikolai squatted down and took the dagger out of it's holster on his leg. He stood up again slowly as the auror squad leader started barking orders.

Drawing his arm back, Nikolai threw the dagger at one of the aurors closest to him.

_Thump _

The remaining fourteen auros turned when they heard there companion fall to ground. They barely had time to react before Nikolai was moving again, firing of spells in every direction.

_Aquatus! Os Fragem!_ Nikolai thought harshly.

The Bone-Breaking Hex connected with an aurors head, killing the man instantly, and the huge wave of water hurled three more aurors into the wall.

Dodging several stunners, Nikolai shot off another Bone-Breaker before he had to throw up a hasty shield to block the incoming Burning Curse.

_Ignittus!_

The curse connected with another man, causing the unfortunate auror to scream in agony as his organs were caught on fire.

Nikolai ducked under a Banished stone, but was hit by a Burning Curse. The force of the curse threw him into the wall behind him as well as setting his shirt on fire. He had just enough time to put out the fire before he lost consciousness.

**-------X-------**

**A/N**: Thanks for reading. Like it? Hate it? I know this may seem like a Harry friends with Draco fic but it won't turn out as such. Please take the time to review. Again thanks to Lyric Z D for betaing this chapter. She did an amazing job.


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is familiar to you. It all belongs to Rowling, Warner Bros, and many other industries.**

**Summary**- **AU! Nikolai is a cold-blooded killer. Problem is he's the boy-who-lived as well. It's not going to be pretty when he is arrested and sent to Hogwarts by Dumbledore. Dark! Independent! Manipulatemeanddie! Harry.**

**A/N** -** Hey everyone. I can't believe I got this out so fast! I hope you like it. Thanks to all my reviewers.**

little ball of emotions; Voldemorts-understudy; cherryd22; elpowermoe; Sirius009; Makotochi

**Special thanks to: **Lyric Z D, my beta, for editing this chapter.

-------**X**-------

**Chapter Two-**

Four men wearing deep blue robes and solemn expressions entered a large stone dungeon, positioning themselves in the shadows. In front of them an unconscious teenage boy was being levitated by one of the Aurors.

Floating the boy over to a large stone chair in the center of the room, the Auror holding the charm cut it off, causing the young man to fall unceremoniously into it.

Immediately after he touched the chair, thick chains shot of the arms of it, binding him tightly. More chains slithered from the back of the chair to bind his neck and his legs.

As soon as this task was complete, two other figures walked into the "prison." The figure on the left coming in was a middle-aged man, who was of average height and had long, black hair that hung past his shoulders. This man was also wearing the blue Auror robes, but he had the crossed-wand symbol stitched into the left breast as the commander of his squad.

The figure on the right was also a man, but a much older one. He was a few inches taller than the man next to him and wore bright yellow robes with blue stars moving, animatedly, around on it. His light blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles and his long, grey beard was tucked into his belt. On top of his head sat a yellow hat adorned with a large blue star that leaned slightly toward his right shoulder.

Altogether, he was the picture-perfect image of a wizard from a Muggle fantasy book.

They both stopped a safe distance in front of the boy now chained to the chair and studied him.

He looked to be around the age of fourteen or fifteen, but he had a beaten expression to his face that most men never got even when they were unconscious. He was short for his age, and he had a well-toned body. Unruly black hair could be seen falling over his closed eyes from the hood that covered his head.

The boy was wearing a black shirt with loose sleeves covering both arms, effectively concealing the wand holster that was strapped to his forearm. The whole left side of the shirt was charred, evidence of the resistance to arrest he put up. A hood that had slid slightly back on his head was attached to the shirt. A baggy pair of black jeans covered the dagger holster that was strapped to his right leg. His hands were covered with rough, black leather gloves, and he wore black army boots. His belt had slots for different potions he might need in a battle.

All of his weapons had been confiscated at the time of his arrested.

The older man shook his head sadly and walked forward, pulling out his wand as he went. Stopping about a foot in front of the boy he sighed again.

"_Ennervate_," he whispered in a quiet and weary voice.

Slowly, the young man's eyelids began to rise, revealing bright green eyes which darted back and forth, taking in his surroundings. When he looked back at the old man he sneered.

"Dumbledore," he said coldly.

Dumbledore looked at the boy sadly before answering. "Harry," he whispered. Behind him he heard the other man, Sirius, hitch his breath. Dumbledore felt for the man. It had been fifteen years since he had last seen the boy, and when he was finally found it turned out he was an assassin.

Before Albus Dumbledore could say anything, Sirius stalked past him and punched Harry in the face. He heard a wet crack and blood started to pour out of the boy's nose.

Albus was surprised, not because Sirius had punched the boy, but because of how the kid had taken it. He didn't even wince!

"Sirius, that is enough," the esteemed old wizard said forcefully, breaking up another punch that was about to come.

Sirius looked for a moment like he wanted nothing more than to disobey the order before he put his arm down and stepped back, grumbling.

"On to business!" the old man exclaimed, "Why did you kill the Grangers?"

"I didn't," Harry said calmly.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "You were caught at the seen of the crime, with five dead bodies and an injured one. After that you went on to kill several of the Aurors that were dispatched to investigate."

"You mean the Aurors that were sent to capture me? Let me ask you something. How many galleons did it take for Snape to tell you where to find me? Or was he so shocked to see the son of his long dead school-boy rival that he came blabbing to your senile ass," Harry spat out angrily.

Sirius stalked forward and grabbed Harry's throat, forcing it into the back of the chair.

"Listen here, _Godson_. I don' know why you would act like this, but you do not talk to that man like you are," Sirius growled.

Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Answer me you little shit!" Sirius yelled shaking the boy

"SIRIUS!" Dumbledore bellowed, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I know you do not agree with the things he has done, but that does not mean you have the authority to beat him."

" 'Don't agree with some of the things he has done?' Albus! He is a murderer! Hestia, Emmeline, Sturgis, and the Grangers are all dead because of this... this... thing!" Sirius shouted, tears starting to spill down his face.

Harry was smirking to himself. How could two people be so incredibly stupid as to argue during an interrogation? He had been awake now for at least ten minutes, but they had yet to ask a question other than what his name meant.

Tuning himself back into their childish argument, he caught Black shouting, "...going to Azkaban, Albus, not Hogwarts..."

Harry nearly lost his calm facade at these words. He managed to keep it... barely.

_Bloody hell!_, he thought_, That idiot is actually trying to get me sent to Hogwarts. I knew he was senile, but this is incredible._

He had been prepared to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. Well... At least be put on trial to go to Azkaban. He had no doubts he would be able to bribe his way out of prison.

"...we need him for the war, Sirius!" Dumbledore yelled.

"But, Albus-"

"Sirius! That is quite enough! You know about the prophecy. You know that we need him."

_Prophecy? No one believes in prophecies. Oh well, if it will keep me out of prison, then who cares? _

Sirius glared at Albus, but dropped his shouting.

Albus turned to Harry. "You have a choice-" he started.

Harry cut him off. "You know as well as I do that is a load of bull. No matter what I choose, you will do what you want with me."

Albus looked at him closely before continuing. "Very well. You are correct. We will be sending you to Hogwarts this upcoming school year. You will be going into sixth year, so you will have to take your O.W.L.s before September."

Harry snorted. "You are actually going to send me to a school full of insolent little children after you caught me committing murder? I always knew you were stupid, but this is amazing."

Smirking when he heard Black growl, he continued. "I suppose you have some almighty way to keep me from hurting the little kiddies."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. I am going to have you perform a wizard's oath in front of us."

On the outside Harry's eyebrows rose, but on the inside he was laughing. Everyone knew that those things were so vague that they could be manipulated by using the correct wording.

Dumbledore turned and said something to one of the Aurors by the door. The Auror saluted and quickly walked from the room.

A minute later he returned with Harry's wand. Dumbledore accepted it from the man, and gave it to Harry.

"I want you to swear that you will not physically harm any students while you are on school grounds. You will also not partake in any illegal activities while on school campus. Furthermore, you will swear not to run away from the school until you complete your education."

Harry smirked. These two really were idiots. He could just kill them now that he had his wand, but that would definitely get him a one-way ticket to Azkaban. No amount of money would keep him out of prison if he killed Dumbledore.

The oath was amazingly simple. He could always just make up a reason for needing to go to Hogsmeade or somewhere else if he needed to get business done.

"I'll do it on one condition," Harry told them. "You will not press me on any murders or illegal acts I have previously committed. Also, you will give back everything you have seized from me. That includes my weapons."

Sirius hissed as Dumbledore nodded.

"Done."

Harry smirked at Sirius, who glared back at him.

Pointing his wand at himself, he said in a clear voice, "I, Harry, hereby swear on my magic that I will not physically or magicly harm a student or commit illegal activities while on Hogwarts school grounds. I will not run away from Hogwarts until I have finished my Sixth Year education or I receive permission from Albus Dumbledore."

A flash of light later, and the oath was sealed.

Dumbledore smiled happily and released the chains holding down Harry. "Excellent," he said happily. "Now we can go get your O.W.L.s. I presume you know enough to be getting on?"

Harry just shrugged.

-------**X**-------

Harry leaned his head back against the wall of the compartment in which he was sitting. It was September 1st, and he was on the train to Hogwarts.

The O.W.L.s he had taken had been extremely easy. All he had needed to do was turn needles into matchboxes, levitate things, and other such nonsense.

Harry sighed as the train began to move. He really didn't want to be going to this kiddy school, but he had no choice. It was either here or Azkaban.

Closing his eyes, he set up perimeter wards to warn him if anyone touched his door.

Not ten minutes after he had fallen asleep, the wards woke him.

The door slid open to reveal a small red-headed girl, a red-headed boy, and a girl with brown, bushy hair.

Harry grinned. _This is going to be fun_, he thought when he saw the brown haired girl he knew to be Granger.

He studied them as they entered the compartment. The two redheads were talking amiably, but Granger had a sad look on her face and only nodded or shook her head when asked a question.

The group stopped talking when they saw Harry.

"Who are you?" the red-headed boy asked. Harry figured that one was the Ron that Draco was always bitching about.

"Now, now, Weasley. It's not nice to barge into someone's room and demand answers. Some people might consider it... impolite," Harry drawled.

Ron's face turned red at the answer he got, and his hand shot to his pocket.

Harry ignored it and turned to the Granger girl. Hermione was her name, if he remembered correctly.

"Gryffindor, if I am correct. You must have gotten the bravery from your father," he smirked, enjoying the pained expression that arrived on her face.

"H-how did you know my father?" Hermione asked, her eyes filling with unshed tears.

"He was very brave, pointing that gun at me before he died. Your mother, on the other hand, just screamed when I killed her," he said coldly.

The group looked like they had been hit by a truck. Hermione ran from the compartment, sobbing.

"Why, you little bastard! I'll kill you for what you did to her!" Ron shouted, clumsily drawing his wand and pointing it at Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes at the boy when a Reductor Curse was shot at him. Holding up his hand, a pulse of magic shot from it, deflecting the curse back at the Weasley.

The curse hit and Ron was thrown backwards into the compartment door, knocked unconscious instantly.

The Weasley girl ran over to her brother and checked his pulse. Finding that he was all right, the girl turned and glared at him with tears shining in her eyes.

"How could you do that to Ron and Hermione?" she whispered quietly.

Harry looked at her coldly. "Because I can," he said.

Ginny Rennervated Ron and told him that they should get out of there.

Ron glared at Harry. The hair on the top of his head was matted with blood, having cut his head on the edge of the luggage rack. He raised his hand and flipped Harry off.

"One day... One day, I'll get you for what you did to Hermione," he growled quietly.

"Sure you will. Now, get your ass out of my compartment," Harry calmly commanded them.

With one last look of intense hate shot back his way, the two siblings stalked out of the compartment.

Harry let out a breath.

_Great,_ he thought, _Now I'm magically drained as well_.

The wandless shield he had created had taken a lot out of him. If he had been completely rested, he might be able to do three of the shields.

It didn't matter, though. He needed people to fear him here. Otherwise, he would swamped by people just because he was the bloody Boy-Who-Lived.

-------**X**--------

Hermione ran into an empty compartment and dropped down into a seat crying.

_Why did they have to go? _she thought angrily.

_Because you had to get your bloody arse into You-Know-Who's business,_ a voice in her head told her

_But Harry Potter killed them, not a Death Eater, _she told the voice.

That had been one of the few things that crossed her mind after she had found out that her parents had been killed by Potter.

_Why Harry Potter?_

Potter was supposed to be the beacon of the light, but instead he was an assassin! The boy was worse than Malfoy. How anybody could be so cruel was beyond her.

The compartment door slid open and Ron and Ginny walked in. Looking closely, Hermione noticed that Ron was bleeding from the top of his head.

"You alright 'Mione?" Ron asked.

Hermione nodded with a sad smile on her face. The type of smile one gets when they are remembering the happier moments of life, in a time of depression or war.

"I was just thinking about my parents," she said softly.

Ron nodded.

"And Potter," Hermione added.

The two girls watched as Ron's face broke into a scowl.

"That bastard doesn't know who he's messing with," he growled angrily, "Doesn't he know who we are. Ginny and I are star Quidditch players, and Hermione is the smartest witch at Hogwarts. He should know not to mess with us."

"Obviously not Ronald," Ginny retorted sharply.

Hermione watched from the sidelines as the two siblings argued. Ron and Ginny were great people to be around, but neither of them was very sensitive.

She remembered the time the had become friends. It had been in their second year. She had been walking down to Hagrid's hut to have a cup of tea with him, when Draco and his goons confronted her. Being his usual self, Draco had proceeded to make fun of her and call her a Mudblood.

While all this had been going on, Ron had been watching the confrontation from by the green houses. When Malfoy had called Hermione a Mudblood he had lost it. Running over to Hermione's side he had hexed th shit out of the Malfoy heir. Needless to say they had become quick friends.

Clearing her head of that memory Hermione wondered once again why Potter had killed her parents. One thing was for sure. She was going to find out why.

-------**X**-------

Harry felt the alarms go off in his head again and looked at the door.

He groaned when he saw who was coming through the entrance. Draco pranced into the room and sat across from Harry.

"Hello, Nik," Draco said.

Harry put the best fake smile on his face he could. "Hello, Draco. You've got to call me Harry from now on. That's what everyone else knows me by," he said as kindly as possible.

Draco nodded, "I saw what you did to Weasley. I must say that I was positively ecstatic to see that he had been humiliated before term even started."

"What do you want, Draco?" Harry asked, not in the mood for small talk.

Draco frowned. "Father is angry with you. Getting yourself caught like that. He had something special to do with you."

_Probably going to finally turn me over to Voldemort_, he thought. _He was supposed to turn me over on my birthday. Wonder what kept him from doing just that._

"Oh?" he asked, faking ignorance. "Well, you'd better send him a letter telling him I expect the rest of my pay. I did complete the mission."

Draco nodded. "Of course, of course. What I want to know is how the hell you kept yourself out of Azkaban. More importantly, why the fuck did they put you at Hogwarts?" he asked Harry.

Harry looked at him like he was asking the stupidest question he could think up. "This is Dumbledore we're talking about. If anyone could get as fucked up as him I would give that person a million Galleons."

"Indeed," Draco drawled. "You need to get your robes on. We're almost there."

Harry shrugged . "I'm not putting my robes on. I don't care about getting into trouble. Plus, there is always the hope they will kick me out."

Draco looked puzzled. "Wouldn't you be sent to Azkaban if you were kicked out?" he asked.

"Nope. I made them forgive all my past crimes. I also got all my possessions and cash back. They can't do anything to me anymore." He grinned. "I could've gotten anything out of the old man."

Draco sneered, "Yeah, that sounds like the bastard who runs this joke of a school."

Harry nodded just as the train began to slow.

"You'll need to go with the first years, you know," he heard Draco say.

Grunting his acknowledgment, Harry stood and picked up his bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he walked out of the compartment, throwing a wave back at Draco.

Climbing off the train, he looked around before heading where the smaller kids were going.

"Firs' years o'er 'ere!" shouted what looked to be a half-giant.

Harry walked over to where the half-giant was standing.

The "man" looked down at him.

"You th' new kid?" he asked Harry.

Harry nodded.

The half-giant looked him over and saw that he was wearing a grey hoodie, jeans, and a Manchester United hat. "Where are your robes?" he asked.

Harry looked up at the "man" coldly. "I'm not wearing them."

The half-giant grunted. "Can' say I blame ya. 'M Hagrid."

"Harry," was the response he got.

"Well. It's abou' time ta get in th' boats."

Harry nodded and climbed into a boat that no one was occupying at the moment.

Luckily for him, no one seemed to want to ride with him, so he was by himself when they set off.

A few minutes into the trip, they rounded a bend in the lake and the castle came into view. Every one of the first years made excited comments at this, but Harry just sneered at what would be his prison for the next year.

The boats hit shore and the students, led by Hagrid, walked up to a set of double doors. Hagrid opened them and told the students to walk up the staircase that could be seen through the opened gates.

Staying at the back of the pack, Harry followed the group of babbling first years up the stairs. When they reached the top they were greeted by a bespectacled, elderly woman with graying hair. She was wearing a set of dark, green robes and had a feathered wizards' hat with a larger-than-normal brim.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she called. "I am your Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall. Here at Hogwarts, we will teach you how to hone your abilities. Soon you will all be sorted into your respective houses. Give me a minute to see if they are ready for you."

Professor McGonagall then walked through a door behind her.

The group of kids waited around two minutes for her to come back.

"They are ready for you now," she said, letting them all file through the door. When she saw Harry, her eyes narrowed. Harry saw this and smirked, blowing a kiss to irritate her.

The first years entered the Great Hall and walked between the two middle house tables up to the Sorting Hat that was sitting in front of the head table.

When they were all crowded around the hat, it burst into song.

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find,_

_A smarter hat than me,_

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin,_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means,_

_To achieve their ends."_

The hat finished and the crowd erupted in polite applause.

Professor McGonagall pulled out a long list of names.

"When I call your name," she shouted, "you will come sit on the stool and put on the Sorting Hat."

"Abbot, Lindsey."

The small girl walked nervously up to the stool and put on the hat.

"_HUFFLEPUFF_," the hat shouted almost instantly.

So the Sorting began.

Ten minutes later, everyone had been sorted except Harry. Dumbledore stood and the students fell quiet again.

"As you have probably guessed already, we have a new student joining us this year. Joining the sixth years this year is... Harry Potter."

The whole school went dead silent as Harry walked up the Sorting Hat and put it on his head.

_Would you pull down your Occlumency shields_ _for me_? the Sorting Hat asked him in his head.

_No,_ Harry answered, _You're going to put me in the house I tell you to._

_Why would I do that?_ the hat asked.

_Because I'll burn you to ashes if you don't fucking do it._

_Very well. I expect you wish me to put you in Gryffindor? _the hat asked.

_No, I want you to put me in Ravenclaw._

_Why! Your parents were both in Gryffindor. I could see you asking for Slytherin, but not Ravenclaw._

_Gryffindor is a bunch of foolish gits, Slytherin has Malfoy in it, and Hufflepuff is a bunch of pussies._

_Very well_, the hat said, RAVENCLAW!

Harry got up as the Ravenclaw table burst into cheers. Walking over to the table, he sat down at the end. Pats on the back and handshakes rained down upon him as he tried to get everyone to get off of him.

_This is going to be a long year._

-------**X**-------

**A/N** - Here it is! I hope you liked it. Yes I did take the sorting hat song from the Sorcerer's Stone book, because I am terrible at making songs and poems. Thanks for reading and I would really appreciate it if you took a few seconds to review. Bye.


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer-** I do not own anything that is familiar to you. It all belongs to Rowling, Warner Bros, and many other industries.

**Summary**- AU! Nikolai is a cold-blooded killer. Problem is he's the boy-who-lived as well. It's not going to be pretty when he is arrested and sent to Hogwarts by Dumbledore. Dark! Independent! Manipulatemeanddie! Harry.

A/N- Sorry this took so long to get out. I have been having football tryouts and practice so it took a while to write this. You will probably notice that there are spelling/grammar mistakes in this chapter. That is because my beta hasn't gotten my chapter back to me yet, so I decided to just post it.

Special Thanks to Dark Lord Potter for helping me weed out the problems of my first two chapters.

**NOTICE- PLEASE READ**: I have made some changes to the first two chapters. The complete list of things is in my profile so please view that so you will not be confused later on. It is nothing big, but you might be a little confused as to why I am writing something. The only thing about this chapter that is changed because of the updates is that Nikolai will be referred to as Harry except in the very beginning of the chapter. Thanks.

**-------X-------**

**Chapter Three-**

_Lucius and the newly christened, Nikolai, appeared inside a large family room. The room was colored green and silver, and had many tapestries, portraits, and other odd items scattered around the walls and shelves. Expensive sofas, recliners, end tables, candles, and chairs decorated the beautiful room._

_Nikolai took it all in as Lucius led him through the room toward a wooden, staircase. As they started up the staircase, a woman came out of a door in the hallway. The woman was blonde and had her hair braided down to her waist. An elegant green, strapless covered her tall, thin body, accentuating the curves of her body. The woman's face was angular and her eyes blue._

_"Lucius!" she yelled across the room, grabbing the man's attention. _

_" Cissa, darling. You look beautiful," Lucius drawled._

_"Thank you. Who is this you have with you?" sneered the woman named Cissa._

_"This is Nikolai. Nikolai this is my wife Narcissa," Lucius introduced them curtly._

_"A pleasure," Narcissa said shortly._

_"Yes ma'am," Nikolai responded, bowing slightly as he did so._

_"Cissa, would you cut this child's hair?" Lucius asked his wife, "I would have one of the elves do it, but those infernal creatures would, undoubtedly, mess it up."_

_Narcissa gave him a short nod before crossing the room and grabbing Nikolai by the wrist. She started up the stairs dragging Nikolai behind her. Nikolai hurried to keep up, in fear that his arm might be ripped out of it's socket._

_The pair climbed up two stories before Narcissa finally stepped the staircase and entered a bathroom. She pulled out her wand and conured a stool, causing Nikolai's eyes to bug out. _

_"Sit," she said pointing at the small, wooden stool that had just appeared out of thin air._

_Nikolai did so cautiously, afraid that it might just be an illusion._

_"Well hurry up!" Narcissa said raising her voice. _

_Once Nikolai was seated, Narcissa conjured a pair of scissors. She knelt down so she was face to face with the boy, and threaded her fingers threw his bangs. She lifted them up so she could cut them, but dropped her scissors when she saw the mark on his forehead. _

_"Y-y-you," she stuttered, backing away from him. Narcissa stood up and ran, as fast as one can run in heels, toward the door. _

_Meanwhile, Nikolai was extremely confused and disappointed. He had been expecting these people to treat him better than the Dursley's had, but here was this woman acting almost exactly like Aunt Petunia did whenever something odd would happen to him. His scar had always been a focal point in his arguments with his aunt, something that she could insult him for. He had thought it was just something she didn't like about him... Apparently not._

_The door slammed open, and Nikolai watched as Lucius practically ran across the room toward him. Lucius reached the boy and yanked his bangs up violently, causing Nikolai to cry out in pain. The man yelled out in anger when he saw the scar on the boy's forehead._

_"Lucius, remember what He said," Narcissa warned her husband._

_"Yes Cissa. I know what our Lord told us," Lucius spat out as he grabbed Nikolai's hair and yanked him off the stool. "Follow me, boy."_

_Lucius dragged the poor child out of the bathroom and shoved him to the ground. _

_"Get up!" Lucius roared._

_Nikolai hastily did so and stood as straight as he could in hopes that it would lessen the punishment he would inevitably receive._

_"Move!" Lucius yelled pointing down the stairs._

_Nikolai scrambled down the stairs, closely followed by Lucius. Once back on the first floor, Lucius forcefully led the boy into the center of one of the rooms. Lucius pulled back a rug and ripped open the trap door that was revealed. _

_"Down," snarled Lucius, motioning toward the latter leading down into the darkness of who knows what._

_Nikolai hurried down the rungs of the latter quickly, eager to get away from the furious man. He descended for another minute or so before he felt the ground beneath his feet. Stepping back away from the latter, Nikolai glanced up at the slowly descending form of Lucius._

_What is he going to do to me? Nikolai thought._

_Lucius stepped off the latter and motioned for Nikolai to go onward into the dungeon._

_As they walked through the tunnel, Nikolai looked around at the things scattered about. Things like silver goblets, decorated weaponry, and fancy robes were to be seen, but other items like bloody dagger, body parts, and other such dark items were also found._

_Nikolai was too caught up examining the odds and ends of the dungeon that he failed to notice when they had reached there destination. Only Lucius ripping open the wooden door brought Nikolai back to the reality of the situation._ _Lucius led Nikolai into a dark room that upon stepping into it filled him with a sense of fear and dread._

_"What is it now, Luciusss," a cold voice hissed out of no where, causing shivers to ripple down Nikolai's spine._

_Lucius knelt on the floor before answering the bodiless voice. _

_"My Lord. I have found Harry Potter like you instructed," Lucius answered loudly._

_There was an eery quiet for a few seconds, and Nikolai was starting to think that he had been imagining the voice just as a man walked out of the shadows. It wasn't really a man, but a ghostly image of a man. The 'ghost' was wearing robes that billowed in a nonexistent wind. It's whole appearance was a translucent white except it's eyes, which glowed a dark red. _

_"Bring him forward," the 'ghost' commanded Lucius._

_Nikolai was watching the thing in front of him so intensely that he did not notice Lucius get up and stalk toward him. He barely even felt the pain as the blond man gripped him tightly about the shoulder and dragged him towards the translucent man._

_"This is him, my Lord," Lucius said with a bow, shoving Nikolai at his Lord's feet._

_"Yesss," it hissed, "It has been five long years since I have seen this boy. Where did you find him my faithful servant?"_

_"In Knockturn Alley," Lucius answered, "I was going to train him into a hired killer. Then I was going to use him to obtain money in place of what I had to use to stay out of prison."_

_"Indeed," the Lord said interestedly. "I believe today is the thirtieth of July, correct?"_

_Seeing Lucius' nod it continued. "Then tomorrow will be the boy's birthday. You may keep the boy until he is sixteen, Lucius. That gives you a decade to make your money with the brat. I expect I will be able to kill the boy then, but right now I need him for the ritual."_

_"The ritual, my Lord?" Lucius asked raising his bowed head._

_"Yes my servant I will instruct you in it. Bring me the boy now. Today Voldemort will rise again."_

Harry woke with a start as the nightmares of his past ripped him from his slumber. Untangling himself from the sweaty, Ravenclaw blue sheets. He grabbed his wand off the end table, waved it, and watched as the time appeared in bright red letters and numbers.

_4: 22 September 9, 1996_

_Ugh! Why does life suck so much? _he thought bitterly as he rolled off the bed.

Straightening himself, Harry set about getting dressed. First, he pulled on a pair of black jeans. Next, he donned a plain blue t-shirt. Pulling his Manchester United hat out of his bag, he put it on his head and grabbed his shoes. Harry grabbed his bag and padded quietly from the room, making his way to the Ravenclaw Common room.

The common room was pretty simple in style. The walls were painted blue and bronze bookshelves that were filled with various tomes of different skills and stories. Four large chairs and two love seats surrounded the marble fireplace, and dozens of smaller wooden chairs were placed around circular tables scattered across the room.

Harry walked through all of this to the exit. He pushed the stone button on the side of the wall and waited for the statue of Rowena herself to move out of the way.

Stalking down several flights of staircases, Harry reached the entrance hall. Shoving the large doors open he walked outside and started to run.

Heading toward the lake he thought about what would happen in result of this past week. Dumbledore would try to turn him to the light side. That much was obvious. Apparently the old man believed he need him to kill Voldemort. Like that was going to happen.

The Dark Lord was more powerful than Dumbledore could ever hope to be. No way could he, at this moment, face Voldemort and hope to kill him. He didn't even _want _to for heaven's sake. What would he possibly gain from it?

Finishing his first lap around the lake he dropped to do his first hundred sit ups and pushups. The lake was a proximately a mile and half in perimeter, so it fit well into his morning workout of a five mile jog and 250 pushups and sit ups. After he finished with those he would lift weights for an hour before hitting the showers.

Starting his second lap, Harry wondered who he would be able to get to help him out with his Voldemort problem. He knew he would be able to call in some help from Dimitri. He and his fanged brothers owed Harry a favor or two.

There was also that US army general that had gotten his patrol squad into a spot of trouble a year or so back. Harry just happened to be on a mission in th States at the time and had decided to help out. It had been during one of his nice moments. He still shuddered when he thought of himself helping out those muggles.

Still... They were rather brutal when it came to fighting. Despite any hatred toward muggles that Harry felt do to being raised by the Malfoys, he had to admit their weapons were far superior to the spells that wizards came up with.

Harry finished his third lap and started to do the pushups and sit ups.

Then there was that woman at the Ministry. Bones he remembered her name to be.

A year back, she had led a small force of ten Aurors against one of Voldemort's more influential Death Eater's home. The Death Eater had been Nott. It should have been an easy raid to perform, but unfortunately for her Nott had a few guests over for dinner that night.

That being how he himself had ended up there. He and Draco had been invited only because Nott did not want his son Theodore to cause problems during the dinner.

When Amelia had led her squad of Aurors into the dinner hall they had all but been slaughtered. Bones had thought it would be a good chance for the rookies to get some practice. She had no way of knowing that there would be five of the most powerful Death Eaters in the same house that night.

Eight of the Aurors had gone down at this point and only two of the Death Eaters were incapacitated.

In another one of his nicer moments he had decided to intervene. Thinking fast he had shot several Blasting Curses of in the middle of the room, effectively causing enough distraction for him to apparate her out of the manor.

Now, no matter how much she hated him for leaving the rest of her squad behind, she owed him a life debt.

That and he learned an important thing that day. The nice moments, horrid as they were, usually got him powerful friends..

Harry finished his sit ups and headed for a pile of leaves he saw had formed under a tree.

Taking out his wand transfigured a couple of them into 40 lb. dumbbells. Next he transfigured a few into a bench, rack, and bar. After transfiguring some weight for the bar he started doing squats.

45 minutes later, Harry jogged back to the castle. Running back up to the Ravenclaw common room he quickly entered the showers before some idiot students could ask what the famous Boy-Who-Lived had been doing.

Turning one of the many knobs in the shower, Harry watched as the hot water cascaded against one of the fogging glass walls.

Stripping off his gym clothes he stepped into the shower and started to relax, forgetting all about the war and stupid Ravenclaws.

**-------X--------**

Albus Dumbledore was not a happy man at the moment. After he had promised to forget all about Harry's past crimes Sirius had given him an earful. Albus could see the reason he might get angry, but surely the man must see that it was for the greater good.

Then there was the matter of the boy himself. Far from being the golden boy that Albus had hoped for him to be, the boy was an assassin. Hired by a Death Eater most likely, if the murder of the Grangers was anything to go by.

Albus knew the boy should be in Azkaban at the moment, but what would be the good in that. Voldemort would eventually seize the wizarding prison anyway, so it was more than likely that the boy would join the monster if that was the case. Now at least they had a shot at him.

All things considered, he thought he did a pretty good job with getting the boy to Hogwarts.

Albus' thoughts were interrupted when he felt the privacy wards, set around the staircase that led to his office go off.

Straightening himself, Albus tapped into the wards to see who was coming.

_Severus and Harry excellent._

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in Severus... Harry," he called.

**-------X-------**

Harry walked leisurely down the stairs leading to the dungeons. His pack was flung over his shoulder, and his hair was still slightly damp allowing it lie almost flat. He was wearing a pair of extremely baggy blue jeans with the left knee ripped and frayed. His torso was cover by an undershirt which in turn was covered by a beat up black button up shirt. The shirt was left open and the sleeves were rolled up to mid forearm.

When Harry had seen that he had Potions at this time, he had taken extra precaution to make sure he annoyed Snape.

The man deserved anything that was coming to him. The bloody traitor had turned him in. To make sure he pissed Snape off to the fullest he had conjured a pack of cigarettes and a lighter to take along with him. Normally he didn't smoke, but if it ticked off the man who got him arrested then who was he to put the idea down.

He also set his magical cell phone to go off ten minutes after he got to class.

The phone wasn't really magical. Just a regular one with a magic nullifying field around it. Pretty damn useful though.

He turned right into small corridor and headed down it.

The old man had told him it was the seventh door on the right.

_1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . 5 . . .6 . . .7_

Before he opened the door, he took out one of his cigarettes and lit it. Taking a deep drag and blowing the smoke out, Harry pulled the door open.

The whole class looked up as he stalked into the room.

"Potter... How nice of you to grace us with your presence. Though it seems you're a little late for class. 75 points from Ravenclaw. 5 for each minute you were late." Snape drawled. "And it seems you're not in proper school attire-"

Harry looked up at him. Taking the cig out of his mouth cut Snape off coldly, "First, it's Harry, I don't usually go by my last name unless it had Mister in front of it. Second, I don't give a shit how many points you take off so don't even bother. Thirdly, if I want to wear these clothes then I will, because you can do nothing to me."

The class gasped as he said these things. No one ever talked to Snape like that.

"Why insolent little brat! Just because the Headmaster kept yo out of prison doesn't mean you can do anything you want," the potions professor yelled.

Harry took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out some smoke. "I beg to differ, Sev. I can do anything I want as long as it doesn't get me tossed in Azkaban. You see... the old man pardoned me for all charges ever committed. All you can do is kick me out of this school, and that would be doing us both a favor."

Before Snape could start yelling again, one of the muggle-born students spoke up. "You know it's bad to smoke right," the girl yelled.

Harry turned to look at her, his eyes blazing. "Who are you... my mother? If you want to be anyone's mother, be Granger's. She's the one who really needs one."

The class, not including the Slytherins, gasped. Harry looked at Granger. Her eyes were watering slightly, but nevertheless she stared back defiantly at him.Impressive.

"Mr. Pot-," Snape started.

Snape was cut off by a loud beeping noise. Harry pulled the phone out his pocket and pretended to look at his messages. A moment later he looked up at Snape with a sad look on his face.

"Sorry Sev, but I gotta go," he said with fake regret.

"Oh no you don't! You will come with me this instant!" the potions master yelled.

Snape stalked across the room quickly. When he reached Harry he grabbed the boys shoulder and shoved him forward, out of the classroom.

They walked on in silence for a few minutes before Snape broke the silence.

"You think your all that don't you. Just because you didn't go to prison for what you did."

"On the contrary Sevvy, I'm just taking advantage of the fact that all you can do is expel me from this school."

"You forget. Once you leave this school you will be arrested for murder."

"And you forget that Albus dropped all charges on me," Harry answered smugly.

Snape opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't find words to use.

The pair rounded a corner and ran into the stone gargoyle leading to the Headmaster's office.

"Sugar Quill," Snape sneered.

The gargoyle hopped out of there way to reveal a spiraling stone staircase. The railings were golden and the steps had different magical animals carved into them.

Snape started up the steps, and Harry followed smirking at the mans back. This was going to be . . . interesting. Dumbledore knew that he had nothing against Harry, therefore he would basically tell Snape to screw himself and get back to his class. Well . . . that's what he hoped the old man would do.

They reached the top of the stairs, and Snape knocked on the door.

"Come in Severus . . . Harry!" called Albus from behind the door.

**-------X-------**

"That bastard!" yelled Ron Weasley back in the Great Hall.

After meeting up with Ron for lunch, Hermione had told him about what happened in potions class. To put it lightly, Ron had been very pissed off.

"Ron! Be quiet," Hermione scolded him as people turned to look at them.

"Hermione he killed your parents for Merlin's sake. Now he's making fun of you like it was some kind of joke," Ron hissed, "What kind of sick bastard does that?"

"I don't know Ron. Just leave it," Hermione said quietly.

It had been two weeks since her parents had been murdered and she had started to get over it, but talking about them still left her with a sense of emptiness. Back on the train it had come as such a shock to learn that her parents murderer was attending Hogwarts that she had lost control of her emotions. After that she had vowed to never act weak in front of that . . . thing, ever again.

**-------X-------**

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Severus?" Albus asked his irrate Potions Master.

"This boy," Snape scowled, shoving Harry into the office, "Has no respect for authority. He was fifteen minutes late for class, he is not in uniform, he was smoking a muggle . . . cigrat I think it's called, and a few minutes after he so generously came to class his fellytone went off."

Dumbledore looked at Snape calmly throughout his rave.

"Is this true, Mr. Potter?" he asked. Seeing the boy nod he smiled. "Well please do sit down."

Snape looked like he was about to protest, but Albus cut him off. "Severus, I will have a word with him, but I would like you to get back to your class."

The greasy git nodded and left the room.

"Harry, I must ask why you are tormenting my Potions Professor.

"Cigarette?" Harry asked, hoping to make the old man forget about why he was here.

"Don't those give you a muggle disease?" the old man asked with amile.

"Yea a muggle disease. Wizards can't get it." answered Harry, knowing that Dumbledore probably knew that anyway.

"Well then, yes I will have one."

Harry handed one to Albus and lit it for him. Albus put it in his mouth and took a breath. He immediately started choking, causing Harry to burst out laughing.

"You have to blow the smoke out, not swallow it," Harry laughed.

The Headmaster did as the boy said, and smiled.

"I must say that this is almost as good as my lemon drops. Where can I get these?"

Harry grinned, "Muggle supermarket or gas station."

Albus nodded, "Back to business. Why are you tormenting my Potions Professor?"

_Obviously he was not to be distracted that easily. To bad._

Harry shrugged. "I'm not purposely tormenting him. I just didn't feel like wearing those stupid uniforms."

The Headmaster folded his hands on his lap and leaned back in his chair. "Harry, you and I both know that you were purposely tormenting my esteemed Potions Professor.

Harry snorted, "Okay maybe I was. It's not like you can do anything about it."

Albus sighed. "Unfortunately you are right. I must ask you to not break to many rules though."

Harry looked the man over intensely. His face looked weary behind the light cloud of smoke that was forming because of the cigarette. Dumbledore's usually twinkling eyes looked dim as they looked the boy in front of him over.

"I don't know," Harry started slowly, pretending to think it over, "Nah, I don't think I will. I will do only what the oath makes me. If you had asked me to add 'not breaking school rules' to the oath then I would have had to. It's your fault this is happening."

Albus frowned slightly, chastising himself for not thinking fo this in the interrogation chamber. "Fair enough. Now, before you leave I have something to discuss with you."

Harry nodded signaling for the man to continue.

"Seventeen years ago a prophecy was made. This prophecy stated that a savior would be born. A child with the power to vanquish the -,"

"Before you go on let me see if I get your point. You want me to kill Voldemort for you, right?" Harry dead panned.

Albus nodded glumly, "I know this must be hard for you."

"Nah," Harry replied cheerfully, waving off his Headmaster's pretend sympathy, "I get this all the time."

"You do?" the Headmaster asked with a smile, his earlier 'sadness' forgotten for a more cheerful attitude.

"Oh yea," Harry said mockingly, "In fact, I've had so many prophecies made about me that it doesn't even bother me anymore. So why don't you drop the crappy sympathy act you were trying to pull, and punish me so we can both get on with our lives."

"I'm not going to punish you," Albus said wiping his half-moon glasses off on his robes.

"Very well," Harry said smugly, "In that case I have a proposition for you."

"Oh?"

"I will capture Lucius Malfoy and possibly several other Death Eaters and turn them into you or the Ministry in exchange for lessons from you in Battle Transfiguration."

"How do you know the location of Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked suspiciously.

"Please. You know as well as I do that you know I was working for Lucius." Harry said coldly, glaring at the old man.

"We have been looking for him for over six months, ever since that attack on Muggle London, where he was identified by an Auror. We have concluded he is under the Fidelius," Dumbledore informed Harry.

"I am not willing to give you that information," Harry responded.

"Alright," Dumbledore said, "What if I go along with this. How will you get Lucius arrested?"

"Bones," Harry said casually, "She owes me a favor."

"Amelia owes you a favor?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.

"Yea," Harry said, sneering at the Headmaster daring him to dig further for information.

"May I ask why?" Albus asked him.

"Nope," Harry answered coldly, "Maybe someday, but I doubt it. Now if you would excuse me, I have better things to do then answer pointless questions." Harry got up from his chair and headed out the door.

Dumbledore watched the teenager go, feeling like he had won this conversation. He had not revealed to much of the prophecy, and at least one of the Dark Lord's inner circle members would be captured soon if Harry was telling the truth. All in all things were going his way.

**-------X-------**

**A/N**- Hey all. Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Please take a few moments to review, because I will really appreciate it.

Thanks to all my previous reviewers.


	4. Chapter Four

**A Killer's Path****  
**_**By: Wild Thing8**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**Warnings for this chapter: **None

**Summary: **AU! Nikolai is a cold blooded killer. Problem is he's the Boy-Who-Lived as well. Its not going to be pretty when he is arrested and sent to Hogwarts for reform. Dark, Independent Harry. NO SLASH.

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

* * *

Harry looked over the letter he was holding in his hands, his emerald eyes quickly skimming over the neat script. It had been nearly a week since he had sent a message to Bones about his proposition, and he had begun to think his letter had been lost in some large stack of Ministry papers. Actually, he had thought it more likely that Bones had burned the thing. Apparently not. Looking back down at the letter he started to read it again.

_Potter,_

_Merlin was I surprised to find out that you, Nikolai the fabled killer, are the Boy-Who-Lived. I will meet with you to discuss your offer at any time you request. I know that you are not doing this from the good of your heart, but I am willing to pay a lot for even one inner circle member. Send me a note with the time and place you wish to meet at and I will be there._

_Bones_

Harry smirked as he finished reading Amelia's message. He hadn't expected her to be nice or anything in her letter, but she could have made it a little longer. Hell, she didn't even use official Ministry parchment or signature.

Pulling a quill from his bag he flipped the note over and began to scribble a reply. Once he was finished with it, he quickly tied it to the owls leg and sent it on its way. Getting up from the Ravenclaw table, Harry strode toward Dumbledore's seat at the Head table. Glancing at the man, Harry was amused to see a long wooden pipe sticking out of the old man's mouth. Further amusement came when he realized that most of the teachers were glancing at him with looks of amusement and curiosity. Snape seemed to be the only one with contempt etched onto his face.

When Harry reached the table, Dumbledore looked up and smiled. Taking the pipe out of his mouth, he reclined back into the elegant arm-chair he was currently occupying.

"What can I do for you Harry?" the Headmaster asked.

Harry shook his head and motioned to the door behind Dumbledore. Albus nodded and stood from his seat causing many of the staff members to look up from their meals. Motioning for them to resume eating, Albus walked into the room in which Harry had occupied a moment earlier. The Headmaster noticed Harry examining a shiny, metal object, and he headed over to the boy. Upon reaching the teenage wizard Albus plucked the object from Harry's fingers and set it back on the shelf.

"Those aren't meant to be played with idly," Albus told Harry with a small smile.

"Why? What was it?" Harry asked, curious to see what the odd object was.

"_Eradicomagus_," Albus stated, "A devise that will cancel out the most powerful magics. It is said that it is able to remove even the Killing Curse from a person's body. Unfortunately, we have not found a way to concentrate it on a specific magic as of yet. Whenever we have attempted to use it so far, it will completely cancel out all magic within a fairly large radius. Meaning, that if we used it on a person's body…"

"They would become worse than a squib," Harry finished for him, eyeing the small, metal object that was sitting unceremoniously between two dusty old books.

The Headmaster's nod caused him to miss the look of want that appeared briefly on Harry's face.

"Precisely!" the old wizard exclaimed, "That is why it is back here. Now, what do you wish to speak me about?"

Harry pulled out his wand and conjured a small, wooden stool. Plopping himself down, he started to explain Bone's letter.

"Amelia sent me a reply. I need your permission to meet her in Hogsmeade this evening," Harry told his Headmaster.

"Excellent! You are of course aloud to go, but you may only travel to Hogsmeade. I forbid you from going anywhere else," Albus said cheerfully, "Now if you'll excuse me I must be going. I have a meeting with our _esteemed_ Minister this morning, and it would be unwise to be late for it." Tipping his tall, blue wizards hat, Albus walked from the room whistling a tuneless song.

Harry waited a moment after Albus left the room before grabbing the _Eradicomagus _and slipping it in his jacket pocket quickly.

**-------X-------**

It was 6:30 in the evening and the sun was just beginning to set as Harry walked down the dirt pathway leading to the village of Hogsmeade. The plan was to meet up with Bones in a room above the _Three Broomsticks _and discuss the offer that he had made earlier. If all went his way then he was going to have a huge advantage in the war.

Harry was almost to the gates that led to Hogsmeade when he dropped to the ground writhing in pain. As he gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming, images started to appear in his head.

_He was standing on the edge of a rocky cliff, waves crashing against the jagged rocks below him. Wind whipped by him, causing the front of his clothing to stick to him like a second skin._

_Suddenly, dark clouds started to form overhead, and moments later rain started to fall from them. A flash of light broke through the dark skies, and a stroke of lighting hit one of the tall trees that were standing behind him. The tree burst into flames, one by one the trees surrounding the fire started to go up in flames as well. Fumbling for his wand, he soon realized that he didn't have it with him. _

_The fire was advancing on him. He was trapped, a two hundred foot fall on one side, and a forest of fire on the other. Standing up, he squared his shoulders and looked straight into the fire with as much courage as he could muster. He could feel the heat of the blazing inferno washing over him, melting away his skin, trying to claim him for itself. He would not let it._

_Suddenly, a loud crack was heard and the ground around him started to fall away, tumbling into the spear filled waters below._

_Slowly, ever so slowly, he fell backwards, the rocks below beckoning for him to join them. He would not die afraid, cowering on the ground like a lowly muggle would undoubtedly do. No...he would die without fear._

Then it stopped. Raising his head from its place in the dirt road, Harry looked around him. No evidence existed of the fire, forest, cliff, or water that he had just held witness to. Standing up, he brushed the dirt off of his clothing and started back down the road to Hogsmeade.

**-------X-------**

Severus Snape kicked the side of his dusty, wooden desk in anger.

_Potter,_ he thought bitterly, _It always has to be the bloody Potters. _

Ever since Harry Potter went missing a decade ago, he had thought he would be rid of the infernal family for good. But no... The brat had to show up at Lucius Malfoy's house of all places! Not once had he imagined that he would see the face of James Potter again, but there it was...staring across the dining table at him in the form of the Boy-Who-Lived.

After casting a spell on his foot to relieve the pain he had caused it, Severus sat down in the rickety chair that was placed by his desk. He pulled out a quill and ink, and brought out a stack of ungraded fifth-year potions essays. One look at the three-foot-long piece of parchment, and a spiky, black D appeared by the Ravenclaw student's name. Pulling another sheet toward him, he marked it with an O as soon as he saw which house the student was in.

Severus was in the process of 'grading' another essay when a knock on his office door interrupted him.

Throwing a look of loathing at the door, he waved his wand causing the wooden door to swing open with a _bang_. Severus watched in contempt as Albus Dumbledore walked across the threshold and into his office.

"Why Severus! How nice to see you," the headmaster cried merrily, setting himself down in the cushioned arm-chair he had just conjured for himself.

"Is there something you need, Professor?" Severus asked, doing his best to ignore the ever-so-annoying twinkle that was eternally present in the headmaster's eyes.

"Indeed there is my fellow staff member," Albus answered in a grave voice. Well as grave as a voice can get when the mouth it is coming from is stuffed to the brim with various soft candies.

Severus waited, impatiently tapping the tip of his quill against the desk, for the old wizard to finish chewing.

"I was wondering what you could tell me about Mr. Potter, and his time with the Malfoys," Albus asked Severus.

Severus rolled his eyes at the wizard in front of him. "Headmaster, I have told you already that I did not know that Potter was working for Lucius until recently," Severus told Albus as calmly as he could.

"That is all well and good my dear boy, but you must have heard something about him from someone," Albus replied, raising a bushy eyebrow at the irritated potions master.

Severus raised his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes roughly, growling slightly as he did so. The things he did to keep Dumbledore happy. "Yes actually," he told the headmaster, "About a decade back when the Dark Lord returned, there were rumors floating around the Death Eaters that the Dark Lord had taken on an apprentice. Obviously these rumors were fake, but you can see where they might have started."

"Indeed," Albus replied, "So you know nothing of the training he received under the tutelage of Lucius?"

"If I knew anything, headmaster, I would have told you," Severus ground out through gritted teeth.

"Very well. I hope to have such a beautiful conversation with you in the future, my dear Severus," Albus said merrily, before standing up from his chair and exiting the room.

**-------X-------**

"You expect me to believe that you can infiltrate Lucius Malfoy's home?" Amelia Bones asked incredulously from across the small, round table that they were currently occupying in the _Three Broomsticks_. After setting up a Silencing Ward around the table, Harry had told Bones how he was going to capture the Death Eaters. To put it lightly, she thought he was full of shit.

Harry rolled his eyes at the question. "For the third time, YES!" he answered irately.

Amelia _humphed_ at him. "Please," she started snidely, "We have been searching for the Malfoy home for over a year now. If there were any chance it wasn't under the Fidelius then we would have found it by now."

"That's because there is a Fidelius over it," Harry answered calmly, enjoying the enraged look that passed over the old woman's face. It was always nice to get on someone's nerves.

"Then how are you going to get in?" Amelia ground out through gritted teeth, "I'm pretty sure Malfoy wouldn't let the likes of you know the location of his mansion."

"You would be surprised," he remarked nonchalantly.

Amelia rose her arms up in frustration. "I'm not going to get any straight answers out of you am I?" she asked resignedly. Seeing the shake of his head, she continued, "Alright then...what is it that you want from me? Gold, political power, auror backup when ever you need it? I'm pretty sure I could get you something extremely valuable for some Death Eaters."

Amelia watched as Potter reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, cylindar shaped object. One end of the cylinder had moderate sized ruby edge set in it. The point being sharp enough and long enough to pentrate the skin like a needle. He set it on the table, and looked her in the eyes.

"Here is what I want you to do."

**-------X-------**

"Mr. Potter!" Harry heard his name shouted from somewhere behind him. Craning his neck, he was just able to make out the tall figure of Professor McGonagall from above the student's heads. He watched as the grey-haired witch strode briskly through the crowd of students.

"Mr. Potter," she repeated once she had reached Harry, "Headmaster Dumbledore would like to speak with you tonight in his office. 8:30 should do just fine. He also told me to inform you that there will be many _sugar quills_ available while your there."

Harry just nodded, mentally laughing at the attempt at subtlety that his Transfiguration professor just tried. Harry walked outside, and looked at the large clock that was perched at the top of entrance hall gates.

7:56.

That gave him about twenty-five minutes before he had to leave for the Headmaster's office. Not that he didn't have anything to do in those twenty-five minutes. Of course...he could do a bit of research on that vision he had the other day.

With that thought in mind Harry headed for the library. He'd be damned if he didn't figure out what the hell he had witnessed on his way to Hogsmeade.

Harry skimmed over the book titles in the _Geographical _section of the library for a few minutes before retiring to a small table toward the back of the room. In front of him on the desk sat two leather-bound books. One of these books was labeled _'Magical Locations in Europe' _, and the other _'Popular Tourist Landmarks of the Wizarding World'. _

Rubbing his eyes, Harry cast shrinking charms on the two books and walked out, unseen by the beady-eyed librarian.

The halls were vacant except for the occasional student, hurrying toward his or her common room. The nine o'clock curfew that had been set in effect at the beginning of the year was met with resentment by the student body. Unfortunately for them, they had no choice in the matter.

"Sugar Quills," Harry said as he reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office. The winding stairs slowly came into view, and Harry made his way slowly up the stairs.

Harry gave a sharp knock on the polished-oak door, and waited for an invitation into the office. A few moments later, the invitation came when the Headmaster's aged voice told him to enter.

"Ah! Wonderful to see you Harry," Headmaster Dumbledore said politely as Harry entered his office. "I assume that the meeting with Madam Bones went well." He cocked an eyebrow at Harry, as if to say that he knew something else was going on besides the planned arrest of a few Death Eaters.

"Splendidly," answered Harry's calm voice. The boy had learned early on in life to keep his poise when being questioned. He was not stupid. Any mildly intelligent human being in his position would know that they were being watched. Dumbledore knew that Harry was up to something, he just didn't know what yet.

"Good...Very good..." Dumbledore mumbled, all the while looking into Harry's eyes, trying to find some mischief, some ill will in them. Finally, after a long, awkward few seconds, Dumbledore drew his gaze elsewhere. "I called you here to discuss the schedule for you training," Dumbledore explained.

"Excellent," Harry replied, "I have been looking forward to these."

"Yes, I'm sure you have," Dumbledore said, "It's not every day one has a chance to learn a new branch of magic."

"Indeed...So, what did you wish to tell me about the lessons?"

Giving a small nod, Dumbledore reached into one of his desk drawers, and pulled out a piece of parchment. He handed it to Harry, and began to explain the schedule.

"There is not much I can say about this," Albus started, "All sessions will be from 8:00 to 9:30 in the evening. Mondays will be theory. Wednesdays will be wand movements and incantations. And finally, Fridays will be actual application of the spells. Of course, for the first week or so, we may be just doing primarily theory until you grasp the concept."

Harry nodded as he scanned over the sheet of parchment. Looking up at the Headmaster, he quirked an eyebrow. "If that is all?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you are free to leave," Albus said, standing from his chair, and shaking Harry's hand. "I will see you later."

Harry waved his hand over his shoulder as he walked from the room, the doors bang as it shut being the only sound that was heard.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

* * *

Yes, I know what you're going to say. I know it has been around 5 damn months since I lasted updated, and now that I have updated, it is not a very long update.

I originally took a break from writing when school and sports started. I just didn't have the time or energy to write. Now that I have settled into both of those, I have a slightly larger amount of time in which to write and plot out the story. To the readers of _Dirge of Hope_! Expect an update within the next week or two. Hopefully it will be up this weekend, and I can get another chapter of this started.

Hope you liked this, and please review. It really does motivate me to write more.


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